The present invention relates to: a section signature accumulating apparatus which manufactures at least folding-in-two sections signature with one sheet or a plurality of overlaid sheets, and overlays one or more manufactured section signatures to form and carry out a section signature stacking body, and a section signature accumulating method.
In recent years, in order to show off the digital printing features, printing media whose configurations are subdivided according to regions or requests of readers and which are formed by combining a plurality of different section signatures are being required to be manufactured. For example, in the field of newspapers, section signature stacking bodies configured by overlaying a plurality of kinds of section signatures, such as a section signature where news of the entire society are reported, a section signature where local news are reported, and a section signature where information (for example, information on sports, travels, restaurants, food materials, or the like) desired by readers are reported, are required to be formed. The section signature stacking body formed in this way may also be made to form a multi-section newspaper signature by, if necessary, folding the section signature stacking body into two and binding the section signature stacking body into a bundle with outer section signatures thereof using a post-processing apparatus.
Meanwhile, technologies including apparatuses (or Methods) capable of overlapping a plurality of kinds of section signatures to form a section signature stacking body are disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2. Further, a technology disclosed in the following Patent Literature 3, as an apparatus for stably discharging gathered objects to a stacker part, is known.
According to the method and apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, “(1) continuously printed sheets are continuously supplied to a first collection station one by one. Sheets allocated to one common signature are disposed to vertically overlap each other, and (are collected) to form a sheet piling body. (2) The finished sheet piling body is transported from the first collection station. (3) In order to finish a signature, the finished sheet piling body is folded at a center thereof in a first folding station. (4) The signature is disposed on a signature piling body including a plurality of signatures which has already been printed and folded in a second collection station. (5) If all signatures of a newspaper are completely equipped, the signature piling body is folded at a center thereof in a second folding station”. Here, the second collection station corresponds to the section accumulating apparatus.
In the method and apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 2, “(1) opposite surfaces of an endless paper web are digitally printed by a digital printing machine through a known method. (2) The paper web is carried by a pulling roller in an area of a first carrying path at a predetermined speed and with a predetermined tensile force, the endless paper web is supplied to a transverse cutter behind the pulling roller, and the transverse cutter divides the endless paper web into a paper. (3) The paper is weakened by a groove roller before being folded in a continuous folding machine, and then is folded accurately along a groove line in the continuous folding machine. (4) A second carrying path is installed behind the continuous folding machine, and includes a gathering station at a rear area when viewed from the carrying direction, and the paper is gathered as a complete newspaper booklet at the gathering station. (5) At a distal end of the second carrying path, the newspaper booklet is supplied to a first working station which is a subsequent processing means by a carry-out part. The carrying plane of the newspaper booklet is inclined in the first working station. (6) The booklet supplied to the first working station is positioned on a catch element by its own self-weight thereof in the first working station. A plurality of folded newspaper booklets may be gathered at the first working station, instead of just one newspaper booklet. (7) After (when) the plurality of folded newspaper booklets is gathered, the catch element drops, and the plurality of gathered newspaper booklets is slid to a second working station having a folding machine via a cascade due to its own self-weight thereof because of the above-described inclination. (8) In the second working station, the newspaper booklet is folded at a center thereof or has a bundling part”. Here, the first working station corresponds to the section accumulating apparatus.
Further, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 3 relates to a discharge technology for discharging a plurality of kinds of papers overlapped one by one in a predetermined sequence to form one gathering object to a stacker part (accumulating part), and the gathering object delivered from a gathering/carrying part is guided to a paper ejection guide plate to be guided between a pair of paper ejection rollers, the stacker part receives a discharging force due to rotating forces of the pair of paper ejection rollers, and opposite lower surfaces of the gathering object are guided to compulsory guide surfaces of a pair of paper ejection posture forcing pedestals to be shifted to an upper side, so that the gathering object is discharged while taking a V-shaped aviation posture when viewed from the front side. In addition, in the case of a weak gathering object (including light papers or a few sheets of papers), as the compulsory guide surfaces of the pair of paper ejection posture forcing pedestals face upward, a bending force is applied to the gathering object to be discharged while the gathering object takes a V-shaped aviation posture having a large angle, whereas in the case of a strong gathering object (including heavy papers or many sheets of papers), as the compulsory guide surfaces of the pair of paper ejection posture compulsory pedestals face downward, a bending force is rarely applied to the gathering object to be discharged while the gathering object takes a V-shaped or horizontal aviation posture having a small angle, whereby a difference in leaps is not generated regardless of the strength of the gathering object, the arrangement of the papers is stable, and the gathering object is discharged to the stacker part while the paper is neither jammed nor wrinkled.    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2002-193545    [Patent Literature 2] JP-A No. 2007-76923    [Patent Literature 3] JP-A No. 2001-48398